2010-07-27

Quilchena Falls

Had a great time with my bro and sis on our hike to Quilchena Falls. A day of hiking, lunch and lounging around in the pool before coming back home exhausted but pleased and happy.The trip in was a nice drive though forests and meadows full of wild flowers and butterflies and nothing our cars couldn't handle. The falls were impressive- water thundered down a 60 meter drop from a fair sized creek that cut through volcanic rock. The trail down to the base of the falls was really steep and my brother was the only one who went down to take pictures of the falls and check out the pool at the bottom.

At the top was a shallow pool with a large smooth boulder on the bottom which was nice to walk on rather than the usual rocks and branches. Speaking of branches we actually cleared out a lot of the debris from the pool which provided a better access to getting in and out. We actually were able to establish a block across the water by shifting a log in case one of us slipped and was swept towards the falls. It would not be a pleasant drop (ie death by falling/drowning) so I don't recommend people going in the pool unless they can shift a log across the water. Our log actually broke loose from the current towards the end of our outing- it was small and just did the job to make us feel a bit more secure for the time it was there.

At one point of our day I found the antlers of a buck with most of the skull intact. My husband estimated it to be about 4 years old. I think it was shot from high up in the meadow and ran for cover in this ravine where it died and predators dragged the carcass around while eating it since the spine was quite removed from the head.We actually cut through the bush to get to it and wound up upstream and had to hike down a ways. At the falls is a rough road leading in from further below which is where we exited. That road is part of the original road that we walked on and it took longer hiking out that coming in because it was all uphill.Take lots of water with you because it's super hot there.

Property is owned or leased by the Douglas Lake Ranch. Your cel phone might not work out there so it might be wise to get permission before you head out. It's about a half hour hike to the falls from there in- you will eventually hear the sound of falling water. I found out today from someone who has lived here a long time that you need permission to go to the falls as the owners are not friendly to folks who don't. I also removed directions to the site so as not to encourage others to just go there thinking a call from a cell phone would suffice.